


Hogwarts class 2011

by Sageandshit



Series: Thx, Quarantine. [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi, Other, hogwarts 2004, if we all went to hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24024655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sageandshit/pseuds/Sageandshit
Summary: This is just a quick short fic about my group of buds going to Hogwarts if we all started in 2004
Series: Thx, Quarantine. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733038
Kudos: 2





	1. Hogwarts is not made for Muggle-Borns

Sam entered the common room in a cluster of other first years. Her shoulders touched the kids that had crowded in with her despite their Prefect yelling for everyone to walk orderly. She pulled at the sleeves of her robe with her clammy hands and watched the other first year girls crowd around the dormitory door as both the boy and girl prefect stood in front of the appropriate doorways. 

Each young hufflepuff found their assigned bed and went to sleep, tummies full of a grand first dinner at their new school and excitement for the day to come. 

Sam lay, staring at the canopy over her bed and hoping for good things to come. 

Day 1

Sam woke up later than the other girls according to the empty beds surrounding her. She flew out of bed, whipping the blankets back into orderly shape, and throwing on her robe and shoes. She flung the dorm door open to see the backs of two students exiting the common room. 

“Shit.” It came out awkwardly. She hadn’t been much of a cusser before but the moment seemed worthy of choice explicits. She ran, quietly, after the two older students- hoping they were finding their way to the great hall and would tote her along without even knowing.

The smells that greeted her when she arrived, long hair tousled and only mildly out of breath after losing her “guides” to a few quick turns, made it worth the hustle. She spotted a girl sitting farther down the end of the nearest bench, alone, and plopped herself beside her. 

The girl, with short pixie-ish red hair, freckles and eyes a confusing blend of colors, looked slowly at Sam. She seemed to be sizing her up, causing Sam to shift, nervous of the forthcoming judgement. Yet all she said was “Hey.” 

“Hi.” Sam slumped a little, finally catching her breath. She grabbed some toast from the plate nearest her and poured herself some orange juice. 

“I’m Kristy. Who are you?” 

“Sam.” 

“I think you’re at the wrong table.” 

“What?” Sam’s heart flopped, she wanted to make absolutely no mistakes on her first day. She was trying her best to blend in.

“I think we’re supposed to sit in our houses.” Kristy shrugged. “But I couldn’t care less. You’re welcome to stay.” 

“Oh thank god.” Sam exhaled. She surveyed the rest of the kids down either side of the long table who were all in robes lined with Gryffindor red. “I’ve spent the entirety of yesterday trying not to out myself as a total muggle-born and I thought I could at least eat a meal correctly.” She shrugged. “But here I am.” 

“Oh I get it.” Kristy suddenly warmed to her and pushed a carafe of coffee towards Sam’s empty mug in a gesture of welcome. “I’m also muggle born. My mum and I spent four hours trying to get into Diagon Alley.” 

“Right?!” Sam’s eyes widened with excitement. “Why can’t they just have a password?!” 

“It’s like they want us to give up and show up unprepared.” 

“Well.” Sam felt the morning’s tension disappear as if it was just a bad dream. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to eat breakfast with you.” 

“Be my guest. Honorary Gryff status.” Kristy’s eyes twinkled with genuine acceptance. 

Sam showed up to first period Charms extremely disheveled. Her hair was tangled and windblown, her jeans weren’t rolled up enough to be hidden by her robes- warranting side-eyes from a few Slytherins. 

“You didn’t bring your first period things?” Kristy had asked after finishing plate and grabbing her backpack. 

“No.” Sam looked at her with deadpan terror. 

“You better run.” Kristy laughed. “You’re gonna be late.” 

So when she burst through the door with her class schedule scribbled on her palm and her backpack over one shoulder she could tell she wasn’t starting on any foot to become a teachers’ favorite. 

She scooted into the last available seat next to a slytherin boy. He looked snarky and tan with spiked black hair and green eyes. 

“Sorry.” She mumbled, trying to make room for herself. 

“Should be.” He groaned back, sliding over only minimally. 

Professor Flitwicked welcomed the class a second time, shooting a look in Sam’s direction, and continued explaining to everyone what they would cover in first year charms and getting everyone as excited as a Professor can get a group of students. 

“Today we’ll learn Wingardium Leviosa. I’m sure some of you have seen your parents or family members perform this- maybe even with wordless magic. And for everyone who hasn’t yet, I’ll show you now.” 

Flitwick then picked up the wand and said, with exaggerated enunciation, “WinGARdium LeviOSa”. The feather in front of the little man started floating upwards, following his wand movements. 

“Sick.” Sam guffawed, forgetting to contain her intrigue. At least 90% of the class had eyes on her. 

“I’m sorry, Miss Strohbusch, is there a problem?” Flitwick looked at her over his glasses. 

“Uh. No, sorry.” She slumped down in her chair a bit. 

“Do you need to visit the hospital wing?” Fliwick asked, still eyeing her over his spectacles. The group of Slytherins next to her snickered. 

“No, Professor. I’m sorry.” 

“Well.” He cleared his throat and continued on. “I’ll pass out feathers and you can all begin your first attempts at charming!” 

Care of Magical Creatures was Sam’s second period. She ensured timeliness by sprinting through the halls and down the grass of the castle grounds towards the edge of the forest and the groundskeepers cabin. She arrived fifteen minutes before any other students and completely prepared, this time. Slowly but surely her fellow Hufflepuffs trailed towards her as well as a bushel of Ravenclaw students. 

“Alrigh’.” Sam turned to see the largest man she’d ever witnessed, with the biggest burliest beard to accompany his stature, amble towards them- large, wrinkly, grey dog in tow. “Welcome ta’ Care of Magical Creatures. I’m Hagrid. Professor Hagrid. This is my assistant, Fang. He’s not good fer’ much but he’s got perfect attendance.” Professor Hagrid’s eyes twinkled as he looked from student to student with a hidden grin. A few Ravenclaws coughed. Sam offered an awkward chuckle and two Ravenclaws behind her joined in. 

“Tough crowd.” Professor Hagrid turned around and faced the forest. “Alrigh’ this is the Forbidden forest. We’ll be goin’ in there a lot throughout the years.” A few murmurs passed between students. “But first years will be staying in these parts, so don’t lose yer’ heads.” He turned and watched his class. “Who wants to see our first beast?” He smiled, again, but more broadly and with great enthusiasm. A majority of students, Sam included, raised their hands. 

“Alrigh’. Group into threes, all of ya’. One to each group. Go on now. Group up.” Sam turned behind her to see who she could pair off with adn almost bumped into the two Ravenclaw girls who had been standing behind her. 

“Oh.” She stepped back, caught off guard. 

“Wanna pair up?” The shorter of the girls said. She had brown hair, highlighted with strands of sunny blonde. She, too, had freckles and a very infectious smile that seemed to hint at depths of mischief. “Colin doesn’t totally suck.” She laughed and nodded at the taller girl with short, curly blonde hair, extremely pale skin, pale blue eyes and cheeks that bloomed red in the sun. 

“I’m Leigh Anne.” The shorter girl said, matter of factly. 

“Sam.” They traded greetings and waited until Professor Hagrid made it to them and handed them what Sam assumed was a green twig. “What?” She scrunched up her face and looked around to see if every group had received the same underwhelming gift. 

“Ugh… I hate these.” Leigh Anne held one finger away from her body and the green twig climbed up and blinked. It Blinked. Sam squinted, leaning forward.

“Jesus.” She muttered. 

“What about him?” Leigh Anne asked dryly. Sam tried to figure out if she was joking but Hagrid’s deep voice boomed, “Who can tell me what we’ve got here?” 

“Bowtruckle.” Leigh Anne said, flatly. 

“Good on ya’! Ten points to Ravenclaw.” He beamed. This entire points system was just another worry added to the pile of things she had to learn. She pulled out her notebook from her rucksack and started scribbling ‘Bow. Truck-’ “How do you spell that?” She asked Colin and Leigh Anne. 

“Are you taking notes?” Leigh Anne furrowed her eyebrows. “Don’t take notes on Bowtruckles. This is a throw away class.” 

“I can explain later.” Colin looked from Leigh Anne to Sam. 

Sam kept pace with Colin and Leigh Anne as they walked up the lawn towards the castle. “What class do you have next?” Leigh Anne bent over Sam’s schedule. “Herbology? You should have just cut through the lawn down to the greenhouses.”

“How am I supposed to know all of this?” Sam groaned and dropped her backpack on the ground, stopped dead in her tracks. 

“Whoa there.” Leigh Anne laughed. “I’m assuming your muggle born, then?” 

“Yeah.” Sam sighed. 

“Don’t worry. Everyone will go a little easier on you if you just say that.” She shrugged. “My brothers’ muggle born friend coasted his first year on that alone. His grades are terrible now, but some people are just dumb.” Leigh Anne gave a second, more meaningful shrug. “-But I’m sure that’s not you.” She tried to say it reassuringly but Sam felt no better. “Hey! Good news, I know a Gryffindor who’ll be in the class with you. Her name’s Kristy. She was in my first hour Potions with me. She’s also muggle-born.” 

“I know her!” Sam cried out, excited that the school was already seeming a little smaller, just by having one person in common. 

“Also, don’t feel bad. I would also be muggle-born, technically.” Colin interjected, kindly. “My biological dad is a wizard but he dipped when I was a baby. My mom knew but she couldn’t talk to me about it until one day I sneezed and somehow disappeared from my spot at the breakfast table and reappeared at the local pool.” She laughed. 

“My mom babysat Colin while his-”

“-Her.”

“Her mom was at work, a lot when we were younger. It helped a lot.” 

“Thanks guys.” Sam said, once again feeling weight lift. A bell rang from somewhere inside the castle.

“Hey, look.” Leigh Anne held up her arms at the last stragglers around them hustling off as she walked backward towards the staircases. “At least now we’re all late together.” And with that Sam was sprinting down the lawn towards the group gathered at the greenhouses. 

“I expect all of my students to be prompt and on time.” Professor Sprout gave Sam a pointed but subtle side eye as she saddled up beside Kristy who was in the front of the group. 

“Hey!” Sam whispered. 

“Oh! Hey!” Kristy accidentally said a little too loud, causing a pause and stern look from the usually kind, frumpy professor. “Hey!” She whispered. “Late to everything?” 

“Looks like it.” Sam rolled her eyes and they quelled their whispers as Professor Sprout introduced them to GreenHouse 1 and verbally relayed to them their syllabus for the year. 

“Today I just want everyone to step into the green house and have a look around. Let your curiosity take over and ask every question that pops into your head.” Sprout smiled, warmly, and stepped aside as her class filtered in two-by-two. 

“I met someone in my second period class- Leigh Anne. She said she knows you.” Sam said quietly as they paused in front of a disgusting smelling purple, veiny bunch of vines piled in a pot. 

“Oh god.” Kristy gulped and held her breath as they stepped one plant over. “Yeah, she’s funny. I liked Colin, too. She’s nice.” 

“We should all eat lunch together.” Sam proposed as they looked down the gullet of a plant that was snapping and gurgling just out of reach of their persons. 

“Oh, god I’d love to but I’m actually super busy.” Kristy said and Sam looked at her, suspiciously. “Kidding.” She laughed at her own joke, heartily. 

“Make sure to be taking note of what you see and asking questions- I’m looking at you Miss Wachter and Miss Strohbusch.” Sprout called out from the front of the greenhouse. 

“Sh!” Sam hissed and kicked the side of Kristy’s shoe as they muffled their laughter. 

“What’s up losers?” Kristy and Sam heard Leigh Anne behind them and instinctively turned around.

“Says the person who has never watched TV in their life.” Kristy scoffed and they watched Colin and Leigh Anne sit across from them and started grabbing at the food before them. 

“I’ve watched TV.” Leigh Anne said as she gulped down pumpkin juice. 

“Good TV though?” Kristy’s tone was pure skepticism and Leigh Anne shot back with “Shut up.” and continued to load her plate with four sweet breads that she would pick at while bantering back and forth with her new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i totally messed up and wrote in CoMC even though it's not a first year class but let's just pretend nobody is going ot notice that because the only people reading this wont give a shit


	2. Secret Santa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a lil quickie beetch

“How does that work?!” Leigh Anne grabbed at the compact-yet-chunky rectangle. 

“Hey! Watch it.” Sam laughed, grabbing it back and showing her the play/pause button, fast forward, rewind, stop and record. 

“You can record your voice and stuff?” 

“And stuff.” Sam was still laughing, watching Leigh Anne flip it over and over and tugging the headphones down over her head more as if the sound would fully envelope her ears. 

“Okay, Colin. We’re officially no longer friends. Why have you never brought me any cool muggle stuff before?” Leigh Anne turned to her, expectantly. 

“Wow. Okay. Guess I’ll just excuse myself.” She stood from the desk of the empty classroom, lit only by the gang’s wands. “My bad for being so busy trying to fit in at your house.” 

Kristy was laughing as she mumbled Wingardium Leviosa and brought the Walkman up and out of Leigh Anne’s hands and Leigh Anne grabbed it down, verbally reprimanding her muggle-born friends. 

Sam watched Colin sit back down, offended but pretending that everything was a joke. She could talk to her later or tomorrow in CoMC or astronomy. Leigh Anne ragged on her pretty hard and even though they were friends longer than any of them it seemed like Colin always took it the hardest. 

“So. Who had me?” Sam clapped her hands together. 

“You have to guess, dummy.” Kristy said but picked up one of three remaining presents on the middle table, looked it over, and tossed it to Sam. She ripped it open and inside was a large leather book and what looked like a smaller-than-usual digital camera. 

“A camera! That’s awesome!” 

“Not just any camera.” Leigh Anne interjected. “A magic camera. So the pictures will move. Now you can remember us forever.” She beamed. 

“Wow.” Sam held it up, inspecting it. She had watched Colin and Leigh Anne pour over the morning paper and enjoyed all of the moving characters in the photography. “Well.” She sat up and laughed. “We all know it’s from Leigh Anne now.” 

“Hmmm…. I wonder who my secret santa is?” Kristy feigned hard thought, grabbing the package wrapped in glittery purple paper. She ripped it open and held up a shoe box. “I don’t think we wear the same size.” 

“Just open it.” Colin ringed her hands together. “Open it already.” 

“Sheesh, hold your horses.” 

“You guys say such weird stuff.” Leigh Anne rolled her eyes. 

“Okay- but who uses Merlin in place of God or Jesus?” Sam sneered, jokingly. 

“Who uses Jesus like he was special?! Anyone in year 6 can turn water into wine!” Leigh Anne’s volume gathered and they all froze, momentarily listening for any footsteps. They were all out past curfew the first night after christmas break. Filch could catch them at any moment. 

“My brother can turn water into wine with his eye closed.” Leigh Anne mumbled and calmed back down. 

“My sister can make wine disappear with her eyes closed. Now who cares about our siblings. Watch me open my gift.” Kirsty was waving her hand in front of Leigh Anne’s face. She lifted the lid off of the shoe box and her mouth fell open. “Colin. This is so cool.” 

“What? Lemme see!” Sam stood up and walked behind Kristy. Inside the shoe box was a diagram- but not just any regular diagram. It was a beautiful collage. All of it was constructed by hand and was enchanted so that it moved. It was a recreation of the scene from the Fellowship of the Ring, one of Kristy’s all time favorite books, of the four hobbits starting off on their journey. Four tiny hobbits walked in tandem through tiny replicated trees and gorgeous green mounds with hobbit doors on them. Colin had cut snippets of the pages- beautiful descriptions of the world and some of Kristy's favorite quotes, and placed them on the lid of the shoebox that was painted like the sky. The snippets floated in little clouds over the four hobbits. 

“Colin. This is insane.” Kristy stared up at her. 

“It’s not that crazy.” Colin shrugged. 

“My gift looks like crap now.” Leigh Anne watched the four little hobbits walk along. 

“I mean,” Sam cleared her throat. “I love my gift but this… how did you even do this?!” 

“Leigh Anne’s brother taught me some enchantments.” She mumbled, turning red in the wand-lit room. “So thanks Leigh Anne, for having a pretty pure-blooded family.” 

“Are you kidding me?” Leigh Anne said as everyone sat back down and Kristy sat with her gift. “My brother won’t talk to me in the halls. He wouldn’t lend me a bezoar if I were dying.”

“That’s dramatic.” Colin laughed. “He’s nice enough if you don’t bother him.” 

“He’s an asshole.” Leigh Anne retorted, handing Colin the last gift. 

“Don’t expect too much.” Kristy still sat, looking at the diorama. 

Colin opened the package and found a smattering of gifts. Kristy stood and walked to her to explain. “So I’m really good at transfiguration so I figured I could help you out, if you wanted. These are little coupons-”

“Good for Voice Transfiguration- redeemable once Kristy performs the spell perfectly three times in a row?” Colin looked through the stack. “This is awesome- I’m not exactly sure how I feel about being experimented on though- not that I’m not grateful.” 

“You won’t be.” Kristy said confidently, sitting next to her. “So, basically, McGonagall gave me the green light to take extra lessons with Professor Davies a few nights a week. I asked if you could come, but…” Kristy looked to the side as Colin shifted- it was common knowledge that Colin was one of the only Ravenclaws that did not excel at Transfiguration. 

“The rest of the gift is a few books on transitioning- some by muggles, one by a witch. And then my sister took my to the mall and we bought you some earrings and a necklace.” 

“This is awesome.” Colin looked genuinely pleased. “That’s so thoughtful.” 

“Well now that we all know who won secret santa.” Leigh Anne stood and stretched. “I’m ready to pass out. I don’t want to miss breakfast tomorrow.” 

“Same,” Sam stood and stretched. “Thanks for thinking of this, Kristy.” 

“Yeah, this was one of my best Christmases.” Colin smiled as they all walked to their respective dorms, as quietly as possible.


	3. The One Where Leigh Anne Loves Whitney Houston

“Hey. Cough ‘em up, suckers.” Leigh Anne swung into her seat at dinner, with her palm out and upward. 

Kristy and Sam exchanged looks. “We’ve created a monster.” Sam sighed. They both dug into their robes and produced cassette tapes. “You know once you find out about CDs these will all be old news to you.” 

“Who cares.” Leigh Anne grabbed the tapes. “Please tell me more songs by that one lady.” Kristy and Sam once again exchanged looks. 

“Ah, yes.” Kristy put the tips of her fingers together. “That one lady. I know exactly who you’re talking about.” 

“The one!” Leigh Anne closed her eyes, hard, and snapped her fingers searching for information hidden in her own brain. “Whitney! Whitney something.” 

“Houston?” Sam offered. 

“Yes!” 

“God you like all the old shit.” Sam laughed. “Does current music taste evade you because of the fact that you need to catch up on centuries of trends?” 

“Guys.” Colin leaned in. “Enough playing around. Who is helping me with my transfiguration exam?” 

“Colin, there isn’t a person alive or dead that could help you.” Kristy portioned some shepards pie onto her plate. 

“How can you be so bad at it?” Sam waited, patiently, for the rolls to make their way down the table. 

“How many exams do you have left?” Colin looked at Kristy, pleadingly. 

“Hey, don’t look at me.” She waved her off immediately. “I’m struggling with Herbology. My Dittany keeps almost dying, my wormwood won’t take water and I can’t calm Devil’s snare to save my life. I need my study time.”

“C’mon, Kristy.” Colin pushed out her bottom lip. “I’ll fail without you.” 

“You’re so lucky I’m weak willed and actually have a small amount of free time left.” 

Sam stood and stretched along with the rest of the first year class, stuffing her quill and notebook into her backpack that was now hefty with the weight of a full year of school in it. 

“How do you think you did?” Colin asked the group in a hushed tone. Everyone was shuffling down the spiral stairs under the order to be quiet, the rest of the student body was sleeping. 

“I did fine.” Kristy said, matter-of-factly. “I haven’t truly struggled with an exam at all.” 

“Lucky you.” Sam sighed. “It’s hard to tell one star from another! And, be real. Half the constellations don’t look, at all, like what’s advertised.” 

“I probably did fine, but I’m bricking it, if I’m being honest.” Colin wiped at her forehead, which was bare thanks to her long and illustrious ponytail via Kristy’s Transfiguration Salon. After dinner classes were paying off. 

“I did great.” Leigh Anne spoke confidently. “I studied for weeks.” 

“I guess we’ll all know soon enough.” Colin added as they reached the stairs. Sam waved to her friends as Kristy, Colin and Leigh Anne all hopped on the staircase that led up to the Gryffindor tower and the Ravenclaw tower. 

“I can’t believe we all passed.” Colin beamed as they waited for the train in a sweaty body of students that were all roughhousing and joking, some comparing grades. Sam watched the Hogwarts Express roll towards the platform. 

“I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed.” Sam felt relief wash over her, imagining her parents’ faces at Kings Cross and snuggling her dog again. 

“Right?” Kristy concurred. The train pulled up and screeched to a halt, allowing the witches and wizards of a variety of ages, pile in chaotically. 

“Does no one know how to cue up? Good god, it’s insane.” Colin waved her hands around as kids with three+ years on her but at least a foot shorter gathered around her in a frenzy to board. “Manners!” She screamed. 

Leigh Anne, Kristy and Sam all watched in amusement as Colin gew red in the face with frustration. They pushed their way on board and claimed the nearest compartment, Kristy pulling out a deck of playing cards and shuffling. The train jerked as it pulled away from the station, none of the girls noticed as they laughed freely and teased each other, lovingly, only pausing to purchase sweets from the trolley as it passed them by.


	4. Pearly Dew-drops' Drops

Kristy and Colin sat across from Leigh Anne in Diagon Alley outside of the renovated ice cream parlor now titled “FF’s Scoops and More!” in honor of the late Florean Fortescue. They each had a long roll of parchment rolled out before them, discussing their new electives. 

“How can you be this late when you live in downtown London?” Leigh Anne scanned the crowd once more, neglecting to turn around and spot the shadow creeping up behind her. Colin and Kristy kept their heads down, pretending to work out their schedules. 

“OY!” Sam grunted in Leigh Anne’s ear while her shoulders tightened and she yelped. 

“Twat.” Leigh Anne rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the redness growing on her cheeks and started laughing along with the three of her friends. 

“What’s up, gang?” Sam pulled a chair from the neighboring table up and pulled a crisp roll of parchment out of her backpack. Kristy and Colin finished their last bites of cone and wiped their hands while Leigh Anne still had 3/4s of a cone left to go. 

“What?” She furrowed her brows as everyone watched the ice cream melting faster than she could eat it. “It’s not a bloody race. Calm down.” 

At the end of year 2 all four of them met in the Hufflepuff common room, the only house that would allow guests as long as they were with a fellow Hufflepuff- and only until curfew, and scanned over their options for electives. 

“I’m not taking Divination.” Leigh Anne stared at the Gryffindor Hufflepuff duo. 

“Why not?” Sam prodded. “Because ya’ not gonna’ be good?” She smirked.

“Leigh Anne’s worried she’ll fail.” Kristy goaded the defiant Ravenclaw. 

“First of all, absolutely not. I will pass-”

“Leigh Anne… Every year you say you;re going to get Os and you pull through with straight Es and As.” Kristy pushed the Divination pamphlet at her. “This will probably be so fun.”

“-That’s absolutely unfair and incorrect. I get Os. You love to focus on my first year. How was I supposed to know I was studying things that wouldn’t be covered on the test. Second of all,” She continued even though Kristy had opened her mouth to protest. “I want to take Arithmancy. At least I can get a good job with Arithmancy. Seers don’t exist as an occupation anymore. If you guys want to waste your education on something that doesn’t have real life application, that’s on you.” 

“Wow,” Kristy laughed. “Leigh Anne. We’re going into year 3. Not graduating.” 

“Well I’m taking Arithmancy. You idiots can take Divination with that whack job.” 

“Divination it is.” Sam laughed and did Rocket Power fingers with Kristy. 

“Do we have any classes together?” Sam leaned in to look at everyone's pages. “Hey! Colin! We’re in DADA, History of Magic and Charms together!” She looked at Leigh Anne’s page. “Why are you in different hours than us, Leigh Anne?” 

“I wanted to fit in extra electives.” Leigh Anne shrugged. “Professor Flitwick arranged my schedule to fit that better. I have a few classes with you guys- Astronomy we’re all together again.”

“Kristy,” Same grabbed her parchment. “Look! We’ve got Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures!” 

“Did anyone take Runes?” Colin asked. 

“God no.” Sam laughed. “-Wait… did you?” She took Colin’s class schedule from her hands. “Colin! Runes, Divination AND Arithmancy?” She stared up at her. “I thought you were trying out for Quidditch this year… you’ll have no time.” 

“Yeah, bud.” Leigh Anne also leaned over to catch a glimpse. “There’ll be no shot if you have time to practice AND study all this. But hey… We have Arithmancy together. That’s nice.” 

“That’s okay.” Sam and Kristy high fived simultaneously. “We’d crush you anyway.” 

“You’re not even on the same team.” Colin scoffed.

“So?” Kristy laughed. “It’s the spirit. Ravenclaw hasn’t won a game in four year. We’re united in keeping it that way.” 

“You’re both so dumb- it doesn’t work that way. What happens when Hufflepuff plays Gryffindor?” Leigh Anne put all of her belongings in her messenger bag and threw away the last bits of her ice cream cone. 

“Easy.” Sam smiled. “I pretend it’s just a friendly because I don’t want to get too competitive.”

“And I pretend nothing because I want to win.” Kristy grinned. 

“I could make it on the team, this year.” Colin interjected, looking mildly hurt at her friends' complete disbelief in her. Sometimes it seemed, to her, that everybody knew Leigh Anne was a Ravenclaw but disregarded Colin’s sorting as some kind of mistake or glitch. 

“Sure. But you’ll never have time to practice. That’s what we mean.” Sam also shuffled her schedule back into her backpack as the rest of the table began doing so. “Where are we headed to now, guys?”

“Well we already got our textbooks.” Kristy answered, slinging her bag over her shoulder. 

“Perfect. That’s where I came from. Anyone need new robes?” Sam eyed up the group, Colin had sprouted about a foot since last spring and Leigh Anne, at least half that. Her eyes landed on Kristy who, upon arriving at Hogwarts as a tall 11-year-old, was now a little stagnant and shorter than the rest. “Not you, of course.”

“Hey, rude!” Kristy replied. “I need a new cauldron so I’ll meet you guys after.”

“Me too,” Leigh Anne stood next to Kristy. “My parents already ordered my new robes this summer. I need to pick up owl nuts potion supplies.”

“Same,” Sam said and looked at Colin. “Wanna go to the second hand robe shop and meet them at the Apothecary?” 

“Sounds good.”

Sam and Colin wandered down towards the lower-end of Diagon Alley, where the Junk Shop and Second Hand Quidditch and Broom shop was. Both She and Sam came from lower-income families and felt very comfortable shopping together. 

“Did you get a new cauldron this year?” Sam asked Colin as they stopped to look inside Twilfitt and Tattings and the beautiful pastel robes and silk gowns. 

“Nah. My mum figured I’ve got one more good year in it at least. But she reached out to my dad, finally, to ask for help with money for supplies and stuff.”

“Sick! That’ll be so nice.”

“Yeah, IF he does anything. I’m not expecting much.”

“-Speaking of expectations,” Sam turned to Colin and walked sideways. “I thought you and Kristy were gonna….y’know..” She held her hands on her boobs and pulled them outward in expansion. 

“My mom won’t let me.” Colin said with a sigh. “No body transfigurations until you’re of age. It sucks.” 

“Oh man…” Sam tsked. “Not even just a little bit?”

“She says girls don’t get boobs at 13 anyway so I’ll jus-”

“-Oh that’s a lie.” Sam interrupted. “Have you seen Eliya Warrenbrook? She was born chesty. And I’ve worn sports bras since I was 11.” 

“It doesn’t really matter anyway. Her word is law until I’m 18.”

“Wizards are of age at 17, don’t give yourself an entire year more.” 

“No, she means British legal age. Not Wizarding age.” 

“Are you serious?!” Sam’s eyes widened with disbelief. Without waiting for the answer she already knew she added, “That’s bollocks. We can sprout nice little subtle ones.” 

“It’s okay.” Colin laughed. “I’ll just tell everyone I’m a late bloomer.” 

“I need him.” Kristy’s jaw hit the floor. Leigh Anne bent over to study it. 

“It’s cute.” Leigh Anne agreed, eyeing up the fluffy ragdoll cat that was hanging off of the edge of a table in the Magical Menagerie. His head was hanging off the end of a table as he swatted at a couple of rats running by. 

“We’ve got a few more cats around the corner, dear, if you’d care to have a look?” The adorable old witch said from behind the girls. 

“No, I’d like this one, please. He’s gorgeous, ma’am.” She was entranced with his huge blue orbs for eyes. 

“He’s…. Dear, he’s- we’ve got much smarter cats ‘round the corner.” 

“I like this one.” Kristy stood and turned to smile at the shopkeeper. 

“He’s quite stupid.” The shopkeeper did away with subtleties and was pleading with her eyes for KRisty to look at another, better cat. 

“I love stupid.” Kristy smiled in return. “How much for this one?”


	5. The gang learns Kristy's crush

“Shhh.” Sam tried to stifle the giggles of her friends. Saturdays were relaxed but there was still supposed to be a curfew. She was sat inside of a beautifully crafted fort made of sheets and brooms enchanted to stay up. Leigh Anne and Kristy were laughing, uncontrollably, at a joke Leigh Anne had made. Poof was purring, rubbing against everyone’s legs and circling the inside of the fort. Colin was passing a bowl of popcorn and knocked her wand over, the lit tip going out and causing raucous laughter to spill over the group again. 

“Shhh- Shh! Guys.” Sam tried to calm her friends down. “They’ll stop letting sleepovers happen if we cause the entire house to stay up.” 

“Okay, okay.” Kristy regained composure. “Colin it’s your turn, anyway.” 

“Okay…” Colin scratched her eyebrow and adjusted the new glasses her mom had sent to her via owl post. “Kristy… If you could go to the winter ball, who would you ask?” 

“Ooh.” Sam raised her eyebrows. “Juicy.”

“It’s not juicy and I’m not answering that question.” Kristy evaded eye contact and popped some popcorn kernels in her mouth. 

“Keeping us waiting only makes us want it more.” Colin took the bowl of popcorn out of her reach. 

“Hey!” 

“Spill.”

Abuse was hurtled from all corners of the tent towards Kristy until she defiantly said “I’m not telling because…” She nodded towards the exit of the tent they had erected in the middle of the dark and empty Hufflepuff common room. 

“Ew!” Sam squealed and Kristy hit her shoulder, “Shut up.” Kristy mouthed. 

“One of my own?” Sam guffawed, not even attempting to keep her voice down.

“I’ll kill you.” Kristy drew her finger across her throat. 

“That’s disgusting.” Sam laughed. 

“Honestly…” Leigh Anne tilted her head from side to side, mulling the idea of the men of Hufflepuff over. “She’s not wrong. I’d never.” 

“Excuse you!” Sam yanked the gummy trolls out of Leigh Anne’s hand. “I’ll no longer be your muggle candy dealer if you speak ill of my kin.” 

“You’re kin?” Leigh Anne’s mouth hung open. “You’ve just said ew!” 

“It’s different.” Sam popped a gummy troll in her mouth and grimaced. She handed the box back to the confused Ravenclaw. 

“It is different.” Colin agreed. “She’s not wrong.”

“See?” Sam pointed at Colin. “She gets it.” 

The gang’s usual spot was the Hogwarts library once the weather turned dreary and grey- an official marker that everyone was now in it for the long haul. The fireplace crackled and roared and the smell of burning wood along with the aroma of weathered leather and old parchment made everyone feel both at home, cozy and somehow more productive. 

“What’ve you got for your paper on tasseomancy?” Sam leaned over Colin’s paper. 

“Just read it all and copy it down, will ya?” She pulled her paper further away. 

“Oh c’mon. I’m just asking for reference points. Like I’d copy your anyway. You break the teacups before you get anything done.” 

“Be quiet.” Madam Pince hissed from behind them. 

The students watched her whisk away towards a shelf of books with a cart nearby and resume organization. 

“How does she do that?” Sam whispered. “It’s like she just apparates.” 

“You can’t appar-” Kristy started.

“We know, we know.” Sam rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying she’s quick and silent. Deadly. Like a cat.” 

“Speaking of.” Leigh Anne leaned in. “Kristy, How’s Poof now?” 

“Fine.” She said almost inaudibly. “Melody Jenkin apologized for letting her beast of an owl in the dorms.” 

“Good.” They all concurred. 

“And now that we’ve covered that,” Kristy leaned in but kept her eyes down on her paper so as to appear to be studying, “Halloween party in the Gryffindor common room after the feast.” 

“What?” Colin’s eyes almost bulged. “I’m in.” 

“Same.” Sam nodded. “Except for the fact that we might not even be let in.” 

“What?” Kristy scoffed. “Of course you’ll be let in. I’m your pass.” 

“Third years? From different houses?” 

“Yes, we’re all aware of that fact, thank you.” Kristy mumbled to Sam. “Just have a costume ready for Halloween. Muggle borns are throwing it. IT’s going to be good.” 

Gryffindor house was known for being the loudest, most rambunctious house in Hogwarts and not many people gave them any greif for it for two reasons. 1) The kids were sorted into Gryffindor for being “Brave”. In 2006 “Brave” isn’t actually defined by things like having fended off herds of dragons or stood up against evil. Brave, in the wizarding world of 2006 is defined by having the best trash talk before a Quidditch match, taking an exam with minimal study the night before, and fitting a week's worth of social activity into four hours. 

The Gryffindor common room was often littered with Student bodies, lounging, laughing and studying. Muggle kids, practicing kick flips on smuggled in skateboards while the upperclassmen took charge of the radio, which had been wired and tweaked to work around Hogwarts electricity enchantments, until the Gryffindor Head of House, Professor Longbottom (And Herbology T.A.) would enter through the round door and ask the students to “Please keep it down. Curfew was hours ago and I really don’t want to start off my tenure here by becoming the bad guy”. 

“Honestly I’d just pound Norwegian black metal all night until he had to take action.” Sam raised an eyebrow and smiled at Kristy over a bed of Venomous Tentacula they were moving from greenhouse 2 to 1 for extra credit. 

“If you think I don’t stay up late just hoping he’ll come yell at someone, you’re dead stupid.” Kristy laughed. 

“Here’s great.” Professor Longbottom smiled as the girls plopped the bed on the old wooden table in the middle of the greenhouse. They turned to smile at him and said, in unison, “Of course, PRofessor Longbottom.” 

“Anything else we can do, sir?” Sam beamed. 

“YOu’ve done great.” Neville laughed and patted their shoulders. “Head on out, now. Go enjoy your dinner.”

“Thanks, Professor.” Kristy and Sam said once more before turning and heading up to the castle. 

“Do you think if we offer to help out every night he’ll get suspicious?” Sam asked Kristy once they were out of earshot. 

“No, but our Captains might.”

“I’m thinking of quitting Quidditch.” Sam kicked at dirt as they moved into the giant front doors of the castle. 

“What? Why?”

“Elliott E invited me to join the Muggle-Born club afterschool and it sounds bloody fun.” 

“Okay, first of all, Elliott E invited you. That’s why you’re quitting- second of all, What are you gonna’ do? Reminisce over toasters for the nine months we’re away from them?”

“No.” Sam laughed, heartily. “He wants to make muggle movies into plays and musicals.” 

“Get the fuck out.” Kristy stopped dead in her tracks. “That sounds brilliant.” 

“Right?!” Sam let her excitement show but pulled Kristy toward the direction of their friends. 

“I want to join? Why wasn’t I invited?!”

“I’ll ask him!” Sam laughed. “I’m sure the more the merrier.” They sat beside Colin, Leigh Anne and a few other assorted kids from their grade. 

Kristy stood in the hallway outside of the Gryffindor common room waiting for her friends to show up. It was supposed to be Gryffindor only but if everyone was in costume nobody would notice, she was certain. Plus, the older kids hadn’t said not to invite others. She watched Ravenclaws from year 7 pile in through the doorway a second ago. 

“Oh bloody finally.” She breathed out when she saw Sam’s blonde hair pulled into ponytails. “What the hell kind of a costume is that?” She asked. Sam was in a red hoodie, high waisted straight leg jeans, white converse… her face was made up to be dead white with grey on around the eyes and one the neck. “What the bloody hell are you?”

“Ay!” Sam beamed and turned around, she was sporting a backpack with a stuffed ET inside. “Penis breath!” 

“Jesus.” KRisty palmed her forehead, laughing. “Well the point is to hide the fact that we’re under year 5 but okay.”

“Just wait’ll ya see Colin. She looks mighty different.” 

Sam wasn’t lying. When Colin came around the corner Kristy’s jaw dropped. She was dressed up like Jessica Rabbit. 

“I didn’t get it, either.” Leigh Anne looked from Colin to Kristy’s expression. 

“Wait…” Kristy looked at LEigh Anne. “What are you?”

“What?” Leigh Anne looked at the group in great anticipation. “You can’t be serious, guys.” She spun around. “The bassist from the Weird Sisters? Are you guys kidding me?” 

“God you’re weird.” Sam pushed passed them and waited for Kristy to speak the password and let them in.

The common room was stuffed and sweaty. Kids were passing around bottles of butterbeer and even a bottle of bottom shelf firewhiskey. Sam grabbed a bottle of butterbeer immediately and hunted down three extras for her friends. 

Kristy welcomed the room-temp butterbeer with not so much as a grimace. She cheers’d her friends and soon enough the familiar sound of a few muggle top 40 hits booming in her ears and despite the growing warmth of the room she felt herself move with the music. 

“‘Scuse me, I’m so sorry-” She heard someone behind her in the middle of a very animated story she was telling. 

“No proble-” She turned to apologize to whoever needed to help themselves to the snacks and was eye to eye with the tall Hufflepuff beater, Anthony Scott. 

“Problem?” He finished in a thick Irish accent and raised one distinct eyebrow with a dry smile. 

Anthony Scott was a whole year older than Kristy and every sleepover held in the Hufflepuff common room was a sleepover where she got to witness Anthony Scott walk to the bathroom in his Pride of Portree pajamas. 

Every quidditch match she’d ever played against Hufflepuff she had spent shit talking Anthony Scott while Sam teased Kristy’s partner Beater, Georgie Whitley. His dry humor, relentless jabs while raising an eyebrow, and the way he would hold his hands up after a Quidditch Friendly and say “Truce” as the Gryffindor team walked by made her heart throb. 

“Yeah.” She said. “No problem.” 

“Hey, your common room has got an infestation problem.” He smiled and pointed to Kristy’s friends who were all laughing in a small triangle and people watching the crowd. 

“Yea, and you’re one of ‘em.” She joked in return. 

“No way to speak to an elder.” 

“Barely.” She looked up at him, realizing just how tall he already was. 

“Enjoy the snack table, Wachter. See ya’ on the field.”

“Scott?” Sam had, kindly, waited until her housemate was out of earshot to poke her best friend. “Anthony Scott?” 

“Shut up about it.” 

“Go on then.” Sam smirked. “What about him? Is it his gorgeous green eyes? His wheatfield locks that just won’t quit?” Sam waved a hair over her tresses pretending to swoon. 

“This is why I don’t say anything.” 

“You tease me about Elliott E, constantly.” Sam said, shoving a chip in her mouth. “It’s only fair.”

“Elliott E isn’t cool and older, though.” 

“Hey! He’s very cool, very handsome.” 

“He’s a slytherin.” Kristy shuddered. 

“They’re not all bad! That’s close minded of you.” 

“I’m being a traditionalist.”

“And anyway, Hufflepuffs are gross.” Sam chuckled. “I’d never date one of my own kind.”

“That’s because you have a toughness complex. A lot of older boys in your house are really cute.” 

“Ew. Gag me.”

“Oh shut up.”


	6. the gangs does finals again

“Here.” Sam slammed a mug of steaming warm beverage on the table in front of Kristy. “I made Aka Takahashi share her focus potion. There’s enough for both of us to share.” 

Kristy looked up at Sam with bloodshot eyes and checked her watch. “It’s 11pm. How much focusing do you think we can do in the limited night we have left?” But she slugged down half the pint anyway. 

“It’s 11pm.” Sam grinned, wild hair and wide-eyed. “We’ve got until dawn.” 

“I refuse to be up until dawn.” Kristy poked Sam’s hand with teh tip of her quill. “Now sit down and tell me exactly which planets make up the primary portion of peoples communication style.”

“Mercury… Mars…. And Pluto?” Sam sipped the elixir. “And why isn’t Colin studying with us? Where did she go?”

“Tackling Runes and Arithmancy with Leigh Anne.” Kristy nodded. “Bigger fish to fry. And Pluto is wrong.”

“Then what is it?”

“Mercury and sometimes Mars. You always add too many.”

“I mean adding one wrong one is better than forgetting all the right ones, right?”

The clock ticked on until Madam Pince shooed the last of the erratic looking students out of her library at midnight. The week of finals always set teh student body on edge. Sam and Kristy tucked away in a corner of an abandoned classroom to finish up theri astrology notes until Kristy let out her final warning yawn and told Sam she was on her own from here on out. 

“I’ll take my chances.” She smiled, parting ways and heading down the corridor towards the stairs. 

Sam shuffled, slowly, down the dimly lit hallway, avoiding Filch and Mrs. Norris at every turn, going over planets, potions, charms, creatures, dark arts defenses, the troll rebellion and which wand movement would allow one to turn a quill into a quail. 

“Hey!” A whisper from down the hall startled her, but she held in a scream and instead let out a small gasp. “Sorry,” A figure stepped out of doorway to the kitchen. “Midnight study snack.” Elliott E smiled and turned his head to the side. 

“You idiot!” Sam threw one of her quill at him. “I almost peed myself.”

“Gross.” He laughed. “Want a biscuit?”

“Duh.” She held out a hand and recieved one delicious, sweet, and sort of stale biscuit. “What are you studying for?”

“Everything. You?” Elliott looked at the stack of books and parchment she held in her arms. 

“Same.” She sighed. “I’ve slipped by so far by the good graces of my parents thinking straight As were a stellar thing.”

Elliott screwed up his face. “How dim are your parents, mate?”

“They’re not dim.” She hit his shoulder. “They’re muggles. You wouldn’t get it. A is the highest grade in muggle school.”

“A is the highest gr- that’s sad.”

“It’s not- it’s a differe- god. Nevermind. Anyway, any luck?”

“Nah. By this time next month I’ll have replaced the dragonskin rug by the fireplace in my dad’s study.” He looked past Sam’s shoulder for any sign of Filch. “Love having a talented older brother.”

“Hey it could be worse.”

“How?”

“Well if I turn out to be a shit witch then I’ve spent all this time here for nothing and I’ll enter the adult world being a both a shit witch and a shit muggle.” 

“Nah.” Elliott patted her shoulder and his hazel eyes twinkled. “You’re a really talented muggle.” He smirked. 

“I can’t work out how that’s an insult but I’ll think about it for hte next twelve hours nad get back to you with a retort.” Sam said as Elliott walked backwards towards the Slytherin dungeons, waving.

“Once you’ve all turned in your essays we’ll have a lively discussion as part of your final grade.” Professor Armitage clasped her hands as her students floated their rolled up parchments to her desk. “Wonderful.” 

“So now,” She walked back and forth in the front of the classroom looking at everyones faces. “Who can tell me why, exactly, the bible had such a huge effect on the muggle population?”

A few hands shot up. 

“Miss Binger?” Armitage called. 

“Because when witches or wizards are raised as muggles and don’t hide their talents, it’s thought of as miraculous or like…. Mystic? I think that’s the word- Whereas when we’re introduced as a group it’s threatening.”

“Very interesting, Miss Binger. Anyone care to add to that?” Professor Armitage watched hands shoot up. “Mister Davies?”

“I think that’s a good hypothesis but when we look at other media, like The Wizard of Oz, we see that’s not always the case. I think it’s more about the altruism of that specific situation.”

“Very well worded, Mister Davies, fifteen points to Ravenclaw.”

Leigh Anne sneered at Alvin Davies. She could have gotten those fifteen points if he hadn’t been so eager to outdo her all the time. He sneered back. 

Leigh Anne listened to the Hufflepuffs in the back of the class discuss why if all Wizards and Witches acted a little bit more like Jesus towards muggles, the Statute of Secrecy would be obsolete eventually, until Professor Arimitage changed the subject from Jesus, the first heralded Wizard post segragation of magical and non magical peoples, to muggle media. 

She waited, tapping her toes under her desk, for the bell to ring. Once she was freed, she ran down the corridor to the lunch room. 

“One more day of finals to go.” She plopped down next to Kristy and Sam who were already piling salad and chips onto their plates. 

“Rough one?” Sam asked. 

“It’s always Davies… every time I make one good point he has to outdo me. I can’t wait until he’s not in any of my classes.”

“Fat chance.” Kristy passed Leigh Anne some coffee. “You two are both taking the biggest course load of our year. You’re stuck with him until we’re outof this joint.”

“I could literally kill him. Or at least seriously injure him, and not feel a pint of guilt.” 

“We’ll help.” Sam smiled. “For a small price.” 

“How are your guys’ finals anyway? And Where’s Colin?” 

“Skipping. Needs an extra hour before Care of Magical Creatures. She almost shat herself last week.” Sam laughed. “Hippogriffs.”

“I can’t wait for this week to end.” Leigh Anne gabbed some toast. “I just want to spend my entire summer doing absolutely nothing.” 

“That sounds lovely but don’t forget we’re getting together this time.” Sam pointed at Leigh Anne and Kristy. “All of us.” 

“Don’t look at me.” Kristy raised her hands in surrender. “I’m always ready to hang out.”

“I promise.” Leigh Anne said nad bit down into toast. “If I survive finals.” 

For the third year in a row, Sam, Kristy, Leigh Anne and Colin lay at the edge of the lake watching students play and relax after the last of the finals was over. 

“How do you think you did?” Leigh Anne said as she lay out on the picnic blankets they had laid out together to make one giant canvas. 

“Nope.” Sam said. “Let’s just enjoy the sun.” She stretched her arms out and yawned. 

“I don’t want to think about school again until next year.” Kristy agreed.


End file.
